The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for shredding a product, and in particular for shredding cheese.
Many products are produced or sold in a shredded form, for example cheeses such as mozzarella or other pizza cheese. Cheeses are often initially produced as large loaves of unfinished product (typically 6 to 20 pounds per loaf). The loaves may then be soaked in a brine bath to achieve salting. After salting, the loaves may be shipped or stored for a total of approximately ten days, after which time the large loaves may be cut into cubes. The cubes are processed by a shredder into the finished, shredded product.
The conventional method of producing and shredding product in the above manner creates several problems. For example, due to the large size of the initial loaves, they must be soaked in brine for approximately 8 to 18 hours before subsequent processing. In addition, the process of first producing and salting loaves, then shipping and/or storing the loaves, and finally transferring the loaves to a cubing device increases the chance of contamination due to frequent intermittent handling.
A method of producing shredded cheese according to the present invention comprises producing cheese in a mixer; forming the cheese into cubes, the cubes being sized for shredding in a shredder; salting the cubes in a brine solution; and shredding the cubes in the shredder. The cheese may be cubed in a cubing device according to the present invention, which comprises an extrusion transfer tube connected to an infeed line. The extrusion transfer tube has an output end, where the cheese exits in the form of a log. A trim knife disposed at the output end of the extrusion transfer tube squares the log, and a cross-cut knife disposed adjacent to the trim knife cuts the log into cubes.